What does it mean to know God? Join the Hit the Mark panel as they discuss Sabbath School Lesson 2 – To Know God. It’s the fastest hour of the week! Get your weekly keyword handout HERE

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Introduction: My father was a great man. He was smart, loving, successful, and took our family to church every Sabbath. His father, my paternal grandfather, died before I was born. That made me want to learn more about my grandfather. It was frustrating. My father never said anything good about him and my grandmother was of no help. One night, when my now-aged father and I were on a porch swing at my home, I asked him if he could tell me anything positive about his father. He thought for a while and revealed that my grandfather had built two churches and pastored them. I was thrilled and shocked that I had never known this before. Are there things about our heavenly Father that would thrill us and shock us to learn? Let’s dive into our study about knowing God better!

I. Creator God

A. Read Genesis 1:1-3. Who is responsible for the creation that we see all around us? (God. The Bible does not equivocate. It was not “alien seeding.”)

1. What does the reference to “the Spirit of God” in verse 2 teach us about God? (This tells us that God has a “Spirit” that is capable of “hovering.” This supports the doctrine of the Trinity.)
2. What is the mechanism for the creation of light? (God merely speaks.)

a. What does this say about the theory of evolution? (It refutes it. If you believe that God created light by merely speaking, what reason would He have to create through accident and natural selection?)

b. What does this say about the absolute power of God? (The fact that some Christians believe in the theory of evolution shows that they not only disbelieve the Bible, but they do not believe in the power of God – a longstanding failure by humans.)

B. Read Genesis 2:7. Could God have created man by only speaking? (Of course.)

1. Why do you think that God “formed” man from the ground and “breathed” life into him? (It shows that man was special. Something that is hand-made is considered unique.)
2. Does the fact that God did not speak humans into existence provide a basis for the theory of evolution? (Not in the least. This is the opposite of chance and natural selection.)

C. Read Genesis 1:27. What do humans teach us about the nature of God? (We were created “in His own image.” If you create an image of something else, that teaches you something about the original.)

II. The Anti-God Publicity Campaign

A. Read Genesis 3:1-4. How would you summarize the serpent’s message about God? (He is untrustworthy.)

1. We have just met a very important consideration in knowing God. What is it? (That a powerful force wants to harm the reputation of God.)

B. Read Revelation 12:9 and tell me who is this “powerful force” that counters God? (Satan.)

C. Look again at Genesis 3:4. Do you notice constant attempts to deceive you? (For more than forty years I have known that I cannot trust the news. I won an extremely important case for employee freedom of speech before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in 1980. The Boston Globe published an article on the decision that was absolutely misleading. The headline was a lie. The Globe refused to correct it.)

D. Read Genesis 3:5. Is this a lie?

1. I thought God said (in Genesis 1:27) that humans were already “like God.” What is the serpent’s claim? (They were not truly “like God.” God had lied.)
2. Is the message of the serpent a total lie? (No. Adam and Eve will be able to know evil. For example, they will be able to “know” that their firstborn son killed their second son. There is a popular song by Toby Keith that contains the phrase, “I wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then.” Eve and Adam would agree.)

a. Is mixing a lie with the truth a common way to deceive?

3. What specifically should be the conclusion that we draw from this example of Satan’s publicity campaign against God? (Its goal is to make us distrust God by believing that God does not have our best interests in mind.)

III. Our God of Love and Holiness

A. Read Isaiah 57:14-15. How does God describe Himself? (He says His name is “Holy,” because He dwells “in the high and holy place.”)

1. How long has God been living there? (For eternity.)
2. Where else does God dwell? (With us if we are willing to have Him. “Willing” means that we are “contrite” – not filled up with our own pride.)
3. What is God’s goal in living with us? (He wants to lift us up. He wants to revive our hearts. Verse 14 tells us that He wants to remove the obstructions in our life.)

B. Read 1 John 4:9. What has God done for us that demonstrates His love? (He sent Jesus to live and die for us “that we might live through Him.”)

C. Read 1 John 4:10. I’ve told the story before about visiting a church and being invited to the home of a member who had also invited a couple who had questions about God. Their children and their parents had been killed in a single car crash. Would I explain to this couple about God loving them? How would you explain this to them?

1. How would your explanation be consistent with the fact that God is ultimately in charge? (We are not God. We do not know all (or really any of the pertinent facts), so I do not think we should try to explain the application of God’s love in the context of a terrible tragedy. Instead, we need to go back to the fact that in an act of love to save us Jesus was willing to be tortured to death. Jesus takes away our sins and opens for us eternal life.)

IV. God’s Positive Public Relations

A. Read John 14:8-11. What is the most powerful argument for how we should view God? (We look at the life of Jesus. We look at the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins.)

B. Read John 14:12. How does God’s positive public relations campaign continue? (Through us.)

C. Let’s go back to 1 John 4:11-12. What point is John making when he says, “No one has ever seen God?” (It is hard to relate to someone you have not seen.)

1. What is John’s solution to this practical problem? (Others will see the love of God through us. God’s love is perfected in us as His Spirit abides in us.)
2. Is this easy? Do you sometimes have the impulse to punch or mock those who are promoting the values and views of Satan? (I’m obviously not getting into fist fights, and I hope that is also true for you. But hostility and scorn are constant temptations. Only the Holy Spirit makes it possible to replace hostility and scorn with love.)

D. Read 1 John 4:13. Is this a way to test if God’s love is in us? (Yes. John says we know that we abide in God because He has given us of His Spirit.)

E. Read 1 John 4:14-18. What is the relationship between God’s love being in us and our “confidence” in the final judgment? (Understanding God’s love, showing God’s love to others, gives us the assurance that God will do the loving thing to us. We need not fear punishment if God’s love abides in us.)

F. Read 1 John 4:19. How do we “sell” God’s love to others? How do we counter Satan’s misinformation campaign? (The prime argument is that God loved us first. He loved us in the creation. He loves us in sending Jesus to rescue us from our sins and failures.)

G. Friend, have you asked the Holy Spirit to bring love into your heart? Will you be an ambassador for the love of God? Will you work to counter the disinformation campaign of Satan concerning God’s love? Why not commit to that right now?

V. Next week: Pride Versus Humility.

Copr. 2026, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail, but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you study.

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View an in-depth discussion of To Know God in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris.
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With thanks to Hope Channel – Television that will change your life.

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Several months ago, I had a “God moment,” which sent tingles down my spine. I was driving while my Pandora was playing Cece Winans’ “The Goodness of God.” In the middle of the song, a friend called, pausing it. He was talking about his work situation, which we had been praying over, and how God had miraculously taken care of it, leaving him in a wonderful place. We rejoiced together and then prayed again, thanking God for His goodness as I continued driving with my eyes open. We both hung up, and the song “The Goodness of God” continued as our praises still echoed in my heart. That phone call could not have been more perfectly timed, right in the middle of the song. 

In the last days, God is seeking to get people’s attention. How does He do this?

But afterward the people will return and devote themselves to the Lord their God and to David’s descendant, their king. In the last days, they will tremble in awe of the Lord and of his goodness. Hosea 3:5 NLT 

God does not seek to make men tremble in awe of fire and brimstone preaching, but rather at His goodness. As God’s last-day people, we need to make note of this, especially as we prepare people for the soon-coming of Jesus.

The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. 2 Peter 3:9 NLT 

So how do we lead people to repent in preparation for Jesus’ soon coming? 

Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin? Romans 2:4 NLT

Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? Romans 2:4 MKJV

It is the kindness and goodness of God that will lead people to repentance and preparation for the second coming in the last days. 

No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.1 John 4:12 NLT

It is up to God’s people to express to the world the true character of God, which is why all of our Bible teachings are rooted in the light of the cross. 

The sacrifice of Christ as an atonement for sin is the great truth around which all other truths cluster. In order to be rightly understood and appreciated, every truth in the word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, must be studied in the light that streams from the cross of Calvary. I present before you the great, grand monument of mercy and regeneration, salvation and redemption,—the Son of God uplifted on the cross. This is to be the foundation of every discourse given by our ministers.-Ellen White, Gospel Workers, Page 315. 

The goodness of God and the light of the cross must be seen in God’s people, not only while giving a formal discourse or sermon, but in all of our dealings with others. 

It is the darkness of misapprehension of God that is enshrouding the world. Men are losing their knowledge of His character. It has been misunderstood and misinterpreted. At this time a message from God is to be proclaimed, a message illuminating in its influence and saving in its power. His character is to be made known. Into the darkness of the world is to be shed the light of His glory, the light of His goodness, mercy, and truth…;

The last rays of merciful light, the last message of mercy to be given to the world, is a revelation of His character of love. –Ellen White, Chirst Object Lessons, Page 415. 

As  God’s last day people, it is our sacred duty and honor to make sure that in every sermon we preach, in every errand we run for our neighbor, in each and every task we complete, the world will see the goodness of God that will lead them to repentance and preparation for Jesus’ soon coming. 

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